Replacement for Sunbeam EM5800

Caffeineconfused

Hi there. After reading through the posts on this forum I'm confident that I've come to the place where I will get some unbiased advice.

I have just returned my Sunbeam Cafe Aromatic (EM5800) to the retailer and received my money back. This was the fifth Sunbeam machine on the same 12 month warranty that has lasted for about four years! While I've been really happy with the operation of the Sunbeam (and the warranty support) I thought it would be worthwhile to look further afield for the next purchase.

The things I liked about the Sunbeam were (in no particular order):
1)It was easy to get a consistently good espresso
2)There was enough clearance for latte glasses
3)It produced silky smooth milk froth for lattes
4)Because it was semi automatic my wife could use it easily without having to guess how much is enough.

I make about 2 coffees a day during the week and perhaps 5 to 6 per day over the weekend. Most of these are lattes and flat whites. The machines I have considered so far are (also in no particular order):
1) Gaggia Baby D
2) Gaggia Classic (but not enough clearance for cups)
3) Krups XP4050 (heard some bad reports about reliability of Krups)
4) Saeco Via Venezia (not sure about the pressurised portafilter)

I'm hoping that someone can give me some advice about what to get - should any of these machines be crossed off the list? Are there any clear contenders that should be added? Is there any significant difference between boilers and thermoblocks?
I'm also not totally opposed to another Sunbeam but I would have to be reassured of their reliability.

I look forward to your comments.  

askthecoffeeguy

If I had to choose from the above, I would choose the Gaggia Classic, has it is a bit more solidly built, with a bit more omph than the others, but I am sure that there are other machines in the same price range which are also worth a look here is an excellent link that tells you the ins and outs of domestic machines: http://www.coffeeco.com.au/articles/july2002.html have a look and see what you think. ACG

Caffeineconfused

Thanks for the advice, and for the great article. One other thing - I've seen a lot of specials at the moment on the Gaggia Baby D. I would be interested in opinions/experiences on this machine from the gurus out there.

james

baby D vs classic what is the actual difference between these two machines apart from the outside (and the price)? boiler, grouphead etc... I was under the impression that if you were to strip the outsides off they are identical, therefore, the espresso (if that is of course your goal, rather than looks) would be the same.